The secret

The secret Rose and Bane were a happily married couple with three children: two sons and a daughter. Rose performed all the duties a wife is expected to perform in a traditional conservative family. Rose cooked food, did the laundry, cleaned and washed the house, ironed the clothes, and spent time with the children. She guided the children in studies. Bane was responsible for financially supporting the family. He performed his duties efficiently even if that meant having to stay up to 10 hours at work from 8 a. m. to 6 p. m. This was a happy family, or this was how Bane thought at least.
Mr. and Mrs. Philips lived in the neighborhood. They had very good terms with Rose and Bane. They would often invite Mr. and Mrs. Philips over the dinner as it was only the dinner that Bane could usually manage to have with his entire family. Bane would often find Rose at the neighbors’ on his return from the office. She would go there to offer Mr. and Mrs. Philips a share from the new recipe of pizza she had tried or a portion of fried Tuna. Bane liked her for her caring nature and generosity.
Mr. Philips was a very jolly and extraverted person. He was quite verbose and had good oratory skills. No one could win an argument with him. Bane liked him for his talkative nature as Bane liked being a listener more than a speaker. Rose also enjoyed the discussions. Mrs. Philips was a rather shy and silent person. She did not participate in the discussions much, and sat mostly with a plain face. It seemed as if there was some problem with her, something that never came up. Once, Mr. Philips kindly insisted she play soccer with them after the meal, and he noticed her mumble something in her mouth like she did not want to go but had no courage to refuse openly and instead kept it to herself. Mr. Phillips asked her what she had said. She was just about to say it but right at the very moment, Mr. Philips dispersed the conversation drawing everybody’s attention toward his loud singing and dancing. Bane thought this might be the effect of overdose of wine that Mr. Philips had had at the end of the meal. But somewhere at the back of his mind, Bane knew that he did not really trust Mr. Philips when he spoke so highly about his relationship with Mrs. Philips.
One day, on his return from the office, Bane brought Laura with him to his home. He introduced Laura to his wife as a helpless girl from another city with no room or shelter there. They decided to offer her the guest room for a week as the arrival of Laura’s aunt was expected after that. Laura was not a very social person. Even when she made an effort to bond with her, Rose noticed Laura did not seem interested. She did not tell Rose much about herself. Rose realized she did not really like Laura’s personality. Bane would not go to Laura’s room as he never had time for that. One night, Rose purposely sent Bane to Laura’s room handing over a blanket to him so that he would offer it to Laura. Rose wanted Bane to find out if the girl was really sane. She thought if Laura would not speak freely with Bane also, it would indicate that Laura just wanted to remain reserved and that there was no other problem. Bane was back in ten minutes. He told Rose that as per his assessment, she was just a fine, modest and a very shy girl. Rose felt relieved to learn this. The week passed and Rose happily wished Laura goodbye. Laura left.
Nine months later…
Rose and Bane were having lunch one fine Sunday in their lawn. Laura showed up at the gate carrying a baby that looked like a week old only. The couple, delighted to see the baby congratulated her and asked about the baby. Laura wore a stern look and claimed that the baby was Bane’s. Bane was shocked to hear this as he knew he had not done anything to be in this situation. Rose was equally baffled with rage and sorrow. She could not take the shock and burst into tears. She abused Laura saying that she was lying, but Laura maintained that the baby was Bane’s. Rose asked Bane why had he done this to her. Bane kept saying that the girl was lying but Rose wouldn’t believe him. Laura demanded Bane to take responsibility for the child and provide for her and the child. Bane could not understand what was really happening. Rose demanded that Bane and the baby should have a DNA test to prove his innocence. Bane happily agreed to it as he knew the baby wasn’t his. Laura hesitated to accept the proposal. Rose insisted and said that she would file a case against her if she wouldn’t allow the baby to be tested. Laura had not thought Rose would go to this extent to learn the truth. Laura couldn’t find a way out and had to submit. The three of them went to the hospital for the tests. After the samples had been taken, Laura took the baby and rushed out of the hospital. She had lost all hope of success as she knew the baby was not Bane’s.
Two days later, Bane went to receive the reports. The doctor told him not to be worried because the genes didn’t match. Bane said he knew it.
The doctor said, “ So you knew the baby wasn’t yours?”
Bane said, “ Absolutely!”
The doctor said, “ Oh fine. So you know that you can’t,” and the very moment, the nurse knocked the door. The doctor allowed her in. She took a file from the table and left. Bane was left curious by the unfinished sentence of the doctor.
He said, “ What were you saying sir, what is it that I can’t?”
The doctor said, “ You can’t make babies…I thought you knew it…I’m – I’m sorry if this is a news to you and I have revealed it to you in such a careless manner.”
Bane said he did not understand what the doctor meant. The doctor explained that Bane could anyway never be the baby’s father as the reports had suggested that Bane was infertile i. e. his sperm count was either too low or his sperms were not able to reach the egg for fertilization. Bane went into a state of utter dismay. He felt as if someone had challenged his manhood. He almost barked at the doctor, shouting that he fathered three children. Overcome with anger, he stormed out of the office thinking the doctor was on some kind of drugs. Bane would not believe the doctor until he had undergone the tests again. He believed the reports were wrong as he already had children. But Bane’s mind was being constantly clouded with other possibilities…possibilities that he didn’t want to think about!
As expected, Rose was at Mr. and Mrs. Philips’s when Bane reached home. He went over to their home and as he reached the door, he could hear the words coming from inside, “ Calm down Rose, I can’t see you cry. While accepting the fact that I am infertile we must also accept another bitter truth that you have cheated on me with all our three children. From today onwards even the sight of that fat son of a ***** will make me go red with anger but I would not be able to do anything. I guess we both have to live with it that I cannot give you a baby and you on the other hand have been cheating on me but, we both love each other and if you are willing to forget the past, I am more than ready to move on and just be with you rather than live without you” said Mr. Phillips with tears in his eyes while Mrs. Phillips’s muffled cry could be heard in the room which were taken care of by Mr. Philips as “ shut up you …..!”